The invention relates to a cuboidal pack made of (thin) cardboard, especially a hinge lid box for accommodating a group of cigarettes wrapped in an inner blank (cigarette block), the dimensions of said group of cigarettes being smaller in depth than the depth of the pack, with a filling piece being arranged in a cavity formed hereby within the pack, said filling piece consisting of (thin) cardboard, and with a filling piece wall abutting the pack contents (cigarette block), and with upright side panels and an upper cross-panel folded transversely relative to said filling piece wall. The invention furthermore relates to a process for producing the filling piece and for introducing the same into a pack. Finally, the invention relates to an apparatus for conducting said process.
Hinge lid boxes are used world-wide as cigarette packs. The structure of this pack type is mostly standardized. This applies to the dimensions as well. Any changes in size have far-reaching consequences. Vending machines for cigarette packs would for instance have to be altered. In some countries, revenue markings are stamped on the packs. The stamping machines are designed for standard pack dimensions.
On the other hand, cigarettes with a substantially smaller diameter than standard cigarettes are increasingly introduced. Consequently, an identical number of such cigarettes forms a pack filling, i.e. cigarette block, with a smaller dimension. The arrangement is mostly such that the cigarette block has a smaller depth then the inner space of the hinge lid box. As a result, a cavity is formed within the pack which is (partially) filled by filling pieces made of foamed material or corrugated cardboard.
Known in the art is also a pack of the aforementioned type, in which the filling piece facing the rear wall consists of three-dimensionally folded (thin) cardboard. The filling piece is part of a blank for a collar which is commonly used with packs of this type. The filling piece is connected with the collar blank and comprises a filling piece wall, transversely folded side panels and an upper cross-panel which is also transversely folded (EP-A-346 026).
By forming a uniform and single-piece blank from collar and filling piece, this known proposal requires a considerable expenditure of material, even more so since the portion of the blank designed for forming the collar is considerably larger than in ordinary packs. Moreover, the production of the pack, especially of the filling piece, and the filling of the pack is more complicated and disadvantageous in terms of machine technics.
Setting out from this state of the art, the invention is based on the object to further develop and improve a pack of the aforementioned kind, such that filling pieces made of folded (thin) cardboard can be simply produced and accomodated in the pack in a material-saving manner.